Construction Group Morgan Sindall suffered a 24 per cent fall in half year profits to £15.4m though revenues edged up by two per cent to £1.019bn.

Chief Executive John Morgan said the first half had seen difficult market conditions across all of its markets, with competitive pressures impacting on margins and profitability.

However he said the group’s improved positive cash position demonstrated the underlying strength of the business and the benefit of a sustained focus on cash management.

Looking ahead to the second half, Morgan said overall market conditions are not expected to significantly improve.

“The business will continue to focus on cash management and will look to improve the order book selectively, such that it is well-positioned to take advantage of the growth and investment opportunities in its markets as they arise," he said.

The group which operates through five divisions of construction and infrastructure, fit out, affordable housing, urban regeneration and investments is paying out an unchanged interim divided of 12p a share.

It reported an order book of £3.1 billion, up 1 per cent since year end, supported by a £2.2 billion pipeline of regeneration schemes, up 5 per cent on year end.

Among its contracts in Scotland are a new £24 million office facility in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, as part of the Clyde Gateway regeneration project.

The project will see vacant land on the banks of the River Clyde redeveloped into 120,000 sq ft of Grade ‘A’ office accommodation spread across a new five-storey building. The new development will provide space for approximately 900 people and will also create 200 car parking spaces.

The company has been awarded a further £45 million of projects to construct nine school buildings over the next three years on South Lanarkshire Council’s £150 million Primary School Modernisation Programme.

It is also currently working on a £17 million contract to construct a building for the new Irvine East Primary School, and provide refurbishment and extensions to Castlepark Primary School and Woodlands Primary School for North Ayrshire Council.

In addition it is also constructing the £10 million Inovo office block in the heart of Glasgow’s International Renewable Energy Zone (ITREZ) for Scottish Enterprise. The new 53,819 sq ft office complex is to become the headquarters for the new Technology Strategy Board funded Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult. Inovo is the latest development in the ITREZ, a global research and development hub which brings businesses and academia together to work collaboratively on the development of the offshore renewables sector.

Its Affordable housing, regeneration and maintenance subsidiary Lovell, which has local offices at the Glasgow Business Park, Glasgow, is working on a £45 million development for West Lothian Council of 545 new homes in eight locations across West Lothian.

The energy-efficient homes are for social rent and include houses and cottage flats based in Armadale, Bathgate, Blackburn and three sites in Livingston at Alderstone Road, Inveralmond and Eliburn, Uphall Station and Whitburn.

It is also working on a a £24.6 million development of nine commercial units and 244 homes which include a mix of flats and houses for Dunedin Canmore Housing Association as part of the Oxgangs regeneration in Edinburgh. The four-year scheme is due to be completed in February 2015.

Other projects include:

A five-year, £22.5 million responsive and void property repairs and refurbishment programme for more than 10,200 households for Dumfries & Galloway Housing Partnership in Dumfries and Galloway.

A £1.5 million redevelopment of the former Albert Primary School site in North Biggar Road in Airdrie into 14 new two-bedroom flats for social rent for North Lanarkshire Council. The project, which is due to start this month, will be completed around May 2014.

A £7.7 million, 93-home, mixed-tenure development of 12 new houses, eight town houses, 71 flats and two maisonettes at West Gait in West Pilton, Edinburgh, for Places for People Scotland. Lovell is building two-, three- and four-storey flats and two- and three-storey homes for rent, shared ownership and shared equity. The scheme which is due for completion at the end of this year, has been under construction since July 2012.

A £3.7 million contract to install new rainscreen cladding with insulation and fit new windows for three 14-storey city tower blocks in Aberdeen for Aberdeen City Council. The works also include roof and minor structural repairs. The project will be completed in January 2014.

An £8.3 million fabric repairs and improvements programme to five high-rise apartments in Clydebank for Dunbartonshire Council. The works include the installation of new windows, replacement roofs and structural repairs. The works are due for completion in November this year.

Meanwhile its urban regeneration and property development company Muse Developments, which has offices in St Vincent Place, Glasgow, in a joint venture with Aviva Investors, has been appointed preferred bidder by Aberdeen City Council for the redevelopment of the St Nicholas House site in Aberdeen.

The project which will be fully funded by Aviva Investors, has an overall value in excess of £100 million. Muse Developments proposes to develop a vibrant new mixed-use quarter for the city on the brownfield site which previously housed the Council’s corporate headquarters.

Stephen Turner regional director for Muse Developments for Scotland said: “We’ve had a great start to the year securing a major city centre regeneration project in Aberdeen in partnership with Aberdeen City Council,” says Stephen Turner regional director for Muse Developments for Scotland. “Our strong track record of providing high-quality, mixed-use schemes continues to make us an attractive proposition and leaves us ideally poised to take advantage of any new development opportunities that arise throughout the rest of the year and beyond.”